Whether you are an individual working from home on a personal computer or a large business managing hundreds of computers for employees, securing your personal and professional data has never been more important. There are numerous scams, phishing attempts, and hackers looking to steal your private data both offline and online. If you need to upgrade your computer and you’re looking to recycle your current one, it is imperative that you securely erase your data first. Even if you believe you have erased your data, someone with the right tools and knowledge may be able to recover private information you’d rather not be seen. These programs and methods can help you make sure your data is securely erased and kept safe from prying eyes.
Use The Windows 10 Built In Utility
If you have Windows 10 installed on your computer currently, there is an easy way to reset and erase your hard drive. Windows 10’s recovery tool can reset your PC and securely erase your hard drive at the same time. This can be a great option if you are looking to sell your PC with a hard drive in it or reuse the PC. Just go to Settings then Update & Security then Recovery. Click on Get Started under Reset this PC. Choose to remove everything, then click Next then Reset. All of your files and other information will be erased and then the computer will reinstall a fresh copy of Windows. If another person is going to use it, he or she can set up the computer from scratch as their own.
Try Disk Wipe Utility
If you would rather use a different program try Disk Wipe Utility. This free program allows you to securely wipe your hard drive from a portable USB drive. It has a simple interface that enables you to choose the level of security you want when erasing your drive. You can choose from one pass zeros, one pass random, or US Department of Defense. The more passes you choose, the more securely your hard drive will be erased.
For Non SSD Drives, Try DBAN
DBAN (Darik’s Boot and Nuke) is an easy to use program that will securely erase your hard drive. The program is completely free and available for download here. You can burn it to a CD or flash drive and boot form it. It can work with any OS including Mac. However, it cannot detect and SSD hard drive.
MHDD
Another great tool for erasing hard drives is MHDD. This free program uses Secure Erase and can work with SSD drives. There is plenty of documentation on this program to help you get started. You can quickly download this program and use it to create a bootable CD, flash drive, or even floppy disk.
There are a wide variety of both free and paid software programs available to help you securely erase your data from your hard drive. Keep in mind that deleting a file and then emptying your Recycling Bin is not a secure way to erase a file. Anyone will still be able to recover this information with a file recovery software program. Before turning over your computer to another person or recycling it, always use a trusted method to safely and securely erase your private information to keep yourself and your business safe.